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A.R. Von

A.R. is not just a reviewer at Romance Book Junkies. She's my partner and a very close friend. She helps in all aspects of the blog on top of her Writing Career as A.R. Von. She can be contacted @ dragonlady039@gmail.com

Danielle

I am a romance book junkie myself and love to share great books I've read with other book junkies. I'm a 32 year old wife, mother and did I say book junkie? :) I read almost anything but mostly paranormal, historical and fantasy romance and preferably hot. Just a note: Blogging for me is a labor of love. I don't blog for money. I will always post an honest review of a book I've read.

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An amazing story! Definitely a keeper.
A must read. A good page turner.
A enjoyable read. An average book.
A book that has flaws and is hard to finish.
Terrible and couldn't finish it.

Margot doesn’t
particularly care if she ends up dead.
She’s lost everything she’s ever cared for. A divorce and the loss of her job as a
corporate lawyer has left her with little faith in herself or in anyone
else. Most importantly, she’s lost the
one person on this earth she’s looked up to and cherished–her brother,
Johnny. His death in a car accident has
devastated her, and she can’t find the willpower to pull herself from the chasm
she’s fallen into. Her only solace is at
the bottom of a wineglass. Having moved
back to the small town in northern Arizona
where she was raised, she’s made a point of isolating herself both mentally and
physically from everyone other than a few chosen friends. Little does she know that her life is going
to explode into chaos and the person behind Johnny’s accident is coming after
her.

In the hall, she tripped over her calico cat,
Marmaduke, who streaked past her and up the stairs. She swore again. The
banging continued. The crazy fool outside had given up on the doorbell long
ago.

“John!Come
on.Open up!It’s me, Jake!”

At the mention of Johnny’s name, Margot’s stomach
twisted and rolled with sudden nausea. “Okay! Okay! Give me a second.”

She groped for the light switch to the hall.
Nothing happened.

“Damn, stupid thing!” That’s what she got for not
replacing the house’s ancient wiring.

“John, I’m freezing my ass off!”

“What do you expect,” Margot muttered, wondering
if this guy was playing some sick joke at her expense.

Margot hit the outside light switch and peered
through the glass panel beside the door. A man stood on the front porch. She
didn’t recognize him, but then again, the sheet of snow and the light’s glare
against the night backdrop didn’t help matters.

A gun or pepper spray for protection sounded
pretty nice right now, but Margot hated guns and had never expected the need,
living on the outskirts of Greyson,
Arizona. It wasn’t like this town
up in the White Mountains was loaded with
crime. The worst incident had been a case of disorderly conduct last winter,
and that had been from a drunken tourist.

“Who is it?”

A pause on the other side followed—almost as if
she’d surprised him.

“Margot? Is that you? It’s Jake Preston.”

Though muffled, his words were clear enough to
make out. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t recall what Johnny had
said about him.

Margot frowned and winced as pain cut across her
temple, brow and the base of her skull. She should have stopped at one glass of
wine. “How do you know Johnny?”

“I worked with him at Miltronics for several years
on the outskirts of Boston.”

Margot debated about turning this Jake away as she
watched him stamp his feet against the porch. He must be freezing—what with the
wind and snow.

“I know it’s late, but I need to talk to John.
Please. If you could just get him, you’ll see I’m harmless.”

The urgency in his voice made her decide. He
obviously didn’t know about her brother. She sighed heavily. What she had to
tell him wasn’t going to be easy.

Margot unlatched the lock and opened the door.

An angry gust of wind burst into the house,
tearing the knob from her grasp. The door flew wide and crashed against the
wall. Gasping, she reeled back as snow flew in, stabbing her face with icy
spikes.

“Here, let me.” He stepped inside and shoved the
door closed with his shoulder. He turned his back against the light from the
kitchen, casting his face in shadow. His baseball cap further shielded his
features—along with sunglasses of all things.

How very odd. Sudden apprehension curled up her
spine as Margot stepped away from Jake and the doorway. Topping a good
six-feet, he appeared far larger than when he’d stood behind a locked door.

“What are the sunglasses for?” she asked.

“The light.”

“What?”

“My eyes. They’re sensitive to light. I injured
both corneas as a child.”

“Oh.” She must have been staring at him like an
idiot, but something about him made her uneasy. And it wasn’t just the glasses
and pale complexion.

He must have sensed her disquiet, because he
explained further, “It’s called traumatic iritis. It’s something I’ve had to
live with for as long as I can remember.” He shrugged a large canvas backpack
from his shoulder and placed it on the floor. “Can you get John for me?”

“He’s dead.”

Margot never intended the words to come out so
abrupt and final, but...it hurt. Balling her hands into fists, she fought
against the sudden tears that burned the back of her eyes. Please no. Not now.
She couldn’t fall apart in front of this stranger.

Okay I am absolutely hooked and have to know what happens with Margot and Jake - hits head on desk, I just knew I should not have stopped to read one more post. LOL Thank you so much for sharing with us. I am really looking forward to reading Shrouded In Darkness and hopping over now to check out more :)dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com